Pat Cole and her daughter Lindsey Cole

Pat and Lindsey Cole went on safari in 2011 and learned there was an opportunity the next year to spend a month in Zambia helping students improve their English speaking and reading skills. They also helped with testing to see how they were progressing with their first set of textbooks Africa Hope Fund provided for reading. This year we added more classrooms and a library for Uyoba School. Thanks to your support, the old classrooms were also entirely refurbished this year. They look brand new with glass in the windows to protect furnishings and solid wood doors.

The path to protecting our wildlife is through education. Teach children whose parents are subsistence farmers how to read so they can continue their education, and their entire community benefits, leaving them less vulnerable to influences that go against humanity. Education helps them understand how important conserving their natural environment is. Our world is really very small, and what one country does or does not do to protect the environment and wildlife affects us all.

On their last day one of the teachers told Pat and Lindsey, “You left a mark, and you leave a gap.” Pat and Lindsey are both very grateful for this experience, and hope to return. They are also grateful to Rotary International and Point West Rotary for their support of Uyoba School.

Zikomo (thank you).

Deborah Lott

Deborah, who is now one of our board members, just returned from representing Africa Hope Fund at Uyoba School for two months. Deborah has more than 30 years of education experience as a teacher, reading specialist, literacy coach and consultant. We were excited to have her at Uyoba School because we recently opened the library which is open to students and the public. Thanks to your support, we helped build that school from classes that met under a tree to a school with three buildings of classrooms, offices, and a library and more than 650 students.

Deborah worked with the reading assistants Martha and Jesse on their professional development and helped them assess student’s progress. She also met with the “Saturday” students who meet at Marula Lodge, facilitated the ladies adult literacy class, and started a literacy club for the library. This was Deborah’s first trip to Zambia, and as well prepared as she was, she said it was a bit of a surprise to realize a school that size had no running water or electricity.

The highlights from Deborah’s trip were the students and how strongly they value education. The class sizes of 75-100 students surprised her too, but it was remarkable how hardworking, attentive, and polite students were. They are very motivated and eager to learn. The mural and soccer field provided by Africa Hope Fund were also completed during Deborah’s stay, and she said it was incredible to watch how quickly the students piled onto the newly graded field and formed soccer teams and began playing. We’re grateful to Deborah for her commitment and that she was there to witness the school’s transformation because so many of you helped make that dream a reality.

Tracey Smith Reed

Spent one month in Mfuwe, Zambia near the South Luangwa National Park helping four local Non-Profit Organizations set up their record-keeping systems. Thank you to Gilbert Associates for making this possible.

Our Mission

“The mission of the Africa Hope Fund is to promote conservation through education by supporting schools, teachers and organizations assisting in the education of young Africans. Our goal is to help the people of Africa live healthy and productive lives and educate them on the value of preserving their communities valuable resources”

We came to Zambia to see the animals and now we return again and again because we love the people.